“I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating — and it gets everywhere.”
- Some Random Jedi
Yes, sand is annoying. Especially for solar panels.
Find out why using THE FORCE may help on The Super Pawesome Science Thread
#TSPST
Solar energy continues to grow as a source of energy.
By 2030 it is projected to account for 10% of all global energy.
An awesome place to put solar panels is where it’s kinda bright, like the desert.
Except the panels get dusty.
Really sandy.
As dust accumulates it wrecks the efficiency of solar panels.
This which makes sense. Light can't go through sand well.
Currently the method to fix this isn’t great for the environment.
Water is brought it via trucks/trains and used to wash the sand/dust off.
It isn’t a little bit of water, but BILLIONS of liters of water.
This is awful
We want solar panels to help reduce carbon emissions, but not at the cost of drinking water.
Here is where science comes to the rescue using THE FORCE.
It’s not THE "THE FORCE" but electrostatic forces.
A team at MIT found that a simple metal bar plugged into an electrode can impart a charge to the dust.
Inside the test solar panel a second charge is sent out which repels the dust.
A little like identical poles on a magnet.
The idea worked in practice perfectly.
A simple system of a bar on a pulley system powered by a tiny motor could be made to pass over giant panels.
Instead of water, we could use static forces.
This one idea is just one of many to improve alternative energy.
Solar panels and batteries become better year on year.
You just can’t do much if they are covered in annoying sand.
It is coarse, and it does get everywhere.
The right use of The Force could fix it.
You can listen to the audio story on The Science Pawdcast here:
bunsenbernerbmd.buzzsprout.com/413041/10271484
Here is a link to the main article:
news.mit.edu/2022/solar-pan…
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